In 2006, Michael Yedziniak was 32 and stressed out. He and his wife were selling their house and attempting to close on another one in Southington, Conn., but it went anything but smoothly. “Stress was already high particularly since the buyers of our existing house were nowhere to be found, leaving us high and dry on the purchase of our original home,” he said.
One day, Yedziniak began experiencing chest and back pain while sawing a downed tree. A couple weeks later, he felt similar pains while mowing the lawn. The next day he went to the emergency room at MidState Medical Center in Meriden, Conn., where he was tested and diagnosed with muscular skeletal inflammation and released with a high dose of ibuprophin and instructions from the doctor to rest.

Over the next couple weeks, he could barely walk from the parking lot to his desk at Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, where he works as manager of professional provider relations.

“Walking to meetings became increasingly difficult, and I really started to doubt the hospital’s diagnosis,” Yedziniak said.

During one of these episodes, his boss told him to go to the ER again. The ER came to the same conclusion and increased the dose of ibuprophin. This time, however, the doctor referred him to a cardiologist on the “slim” chance that he could be experiencing heart problems, and the next day the doctor recommended he go to Hartford Hospital.

It was then that he found out he had coronary artery blockages and was given an angiogram. They found two blockages in the LAD and an 80 percent blockage in a lesser artery. Doctors placed drug-eluding stents to reopen the blockages in the LAD and left the 80 percent blockage alone to be managed by lifestyle changes and medication.

“The next several months were filled with fear of death, of the 80 percent blocked artery acting up, of the pain returning, of needing to have the procedure repeated and of not being there for my wife and mother who need me. I made myself stressed by reading information on the Internet including medication side effects and potential complications with coronary artery disease and the drug eluding stents. I read and reread medical case studies which, since I have no medical background, interpreted in my have way with my absorb negative angle. Instead of taking the positive I was looking for the negative. Even gay events or buying something nice for myself depressed me,” Yedziniak said.

But with time came healing. “As they say, time heals, and over those months I began to take back my life and rebuild my confidence. Feeling good about my dieting and exercise progress, I slowly became stronger–mentally and physically,” he said.

Now, Yedziniak weighs less, is healthier, both mentally and physically, and happier with his faith. “I have confidence that I have control over the coronary artery disease–that by following my doctor’s instructions, taking my medications and making good lifestyle choices that the odds will be stacked in my favor as much as I can possibly influence with the rest in God’s hands,” he said.

This is the prescription Yedziniak followed to become healthy again:

1) Increased physical activity: One half to three quarters of a mile walks three days per week for the first several weeks. He gradually increased the walking distance to 1.5 miles four times per week, then 3 miles four times per week and then 3 to 4.5 miles five times per week. He also used the fitness center at his job to push his cardio development, using treadmills, bikes and elliptical machines.

Likely Page Break2) Healthier eating habits: He went from eating fast food and diner food for lunch and restaurant food for dinner to eating sensibly six days and allowing one “fat day” per week. On the six healthy days, he tried to eat a balanced diet with 10 to 15 percent of calories from fat and under 5 percent of the calories from saturated fat.

3) Managing heart-related risk factors such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol: He followed the doctor’s instructions regarding diet, exercise, weight loss, lifestyle changes and taking prescribed medications as directed daily.

HIV Life Insurance used to be an option that just did not exist for people infected with the HIV virus. Many life insurance companies just don’t have enough information to make a fair assessment of the risk for insuring people with HIV for life insurance.

A study performed by the Dutch Association of Insurers announced on March 15, 2002, that “HIV is no more of a risk factor for insurers than someone with diabetes – a positive step toward increasing the insurability of HIV patients.”

The study examined the mortality of HIV positive patients from a life insurance standpoint. Among this group the probability of death due to being HIV positive was found to be as low as one-tenth of one percent per year. These odds put HIV positive patients in the same risk category as people living with a serious heart problem or diabetes.

In the past, life insurance companies would not insure a person they knew to be infected with HIV. However, due to major advances in the treatment of the HIV virus, it is now possible for people with HIV to get life insurance.

When applying for life insurance it is important to know that you must disclose your HIV positive status to the insurance company. If you don’t and the insurance company finds out, your coverage will lkikely be cancelled.

If you contract HIV after your life insurance policy is issued, your life insurance policy cannot be canceled based on your HIV positive status.

Guaranteed Sigh Life Insurance may be one option for people living with HIV. But there are restrictions on these life insurance policies. There is usually a waiting period of 2-3 years. That means the coverage does not take effect for that time period, but you are required to pay your premiums. If you do not outlive the initial waiting period, the life insurance policy would pay nothing to your beneficiary.

The benefits offered by guaranteed issue life insurance policies are usually limited to up to $25,000 of coverage.

The cost of guaranteed verbalize life insurance may be expensive, averaging $50 or more per month, depending on the life insurance policy, carrier, your HIV status, and the coverage amount.

This type of coverage is usually only available to people over the age of 40 or 50, in most cases.

Make sure you pay the life insurance premiums, if you miss a payment, your policy may be canceled and you may lose all the money you put into your policy.

Another option for HIV life insurance may be your Employer group life insurance policy. Once your employment ends you may be able to convert your group life insurance policy into an individual life insurance policy. But this change must usually take place within 31 days of the end of your employment.

Or, you may want to join a union, association, or credit union in order to be eligible for enrollment in their group life insurance policy.

There are some life insurance companies that have chosen to offer life insurance policies to people with HIV. Among those is Guarantee Trust Life Insurance, based in Glenview, Illinois. They are a life insurance company specializing in life insurance for high-risk individuals.

People under the age of 49 may qualify for $25,000-$250,000 of life insurance, depending on your current health, and the level of the virus. About 50% of HIV-positive people who have sought coverage have been denied, from the time Guarantee Trust started offering the coverage in 1997 through 2004. Coverage availability may be miniature to certain states.

Other insurance companies who may offer life insurance for people with HIV include Mutual of Omaha, Physician’s Life, and Fresh York Life. The requirements as well as the amount of coverage available may vary by company. You may want to contact an independent insurance broker to get you quotes for life insurance from these companies.

To learn more, review resources, or request free life insurance quotes – Visit HIV Life Insurance.